Must-See Musical Acts at Coachella 2010

The wide-ranging Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicks off Friday with a fat slate of stellar acts from the last century like Sly Stone, Public Image Ltd., Faith No More and more.

But we’re keeping our eyes on Coachella‘s 21st-century standouts (with a couple from the 20th for good measure). Scroll through our choices of must-see acts, all perfectly tuned for the California desert.

Friday

Jay-Z

Seeing Jay-Z is essential. He’s not only one of the festival’s headliners, he’ll also just be coming off of U.S. leg of his tour and should have his act down cold. One of the hardest things for artists at Coachella is keeping thousands of heat-stroked, dehydrated (and/or drunk) and exhausted celebrants captivated. This is Hova‘s forte. Having just completed his own personal trilogy with The Blueprint 3, Jigga’s riding a fresh wave of swag. There’s no doubt he’ll be one not to miss.

It’s also worth noting that Jay-Z will be headlining a day pwned by Brooklyn’s indie darlings, so it’s only right that the borough’s finest comes in at the end to take his rightful place at the top.

LCD Soundsystem

It’s been almost three years since LCD Soundsystem‘s brilliant Sound of Silver was released, and club-going hipsters have been feeling the absence. Luckily, James Murphy’s dance-floor project is back this spring with a new record set for May release. A giant party in the desert seems like the perfect time for LCD to test out new cuts. If past is prologue, the Soundsystem won’t disappoint.

Yeasayer

For an experimental rock act from Brooklyn, Yeasayer‘s latest record, Odd Blood, brings a lot of sun-kissed fun. It should be the perfect soundtrack to start off the three-day Coachella festival. Discordant jams, sinewy breakdowns, a few moments of pure rock: Sounds like a good way to start 72 hours of songs in the sun.

Grizzly Bear

A lot of people (OK, me) were surprised Grizzly Bear didn’t make the bill for Coachella 2009. Now that the band is firmly established as indie rock elite, the Brooklyn quartet should draw a pretty big crowd for their chamber-rock set. Pro tip: Eyes akimbo for Twi-hards screaming for That Band from the New Moon soundtrack. Just kidding; clearly no one here can knock that soundtrack.

Sleigh Bells

Ever since the CMJ Music Marathon last fall, everyone from Pitchfork to The New Yorker‘s Sasha Frere-Jones has been unable to shut up about the duo known as Sleigh Bells. With good reason: They kind of rock. Part dance, part punk, all arty flair — Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss are the perfect yin and yang. Catch them now.

Major Lazer's dance-music mayhem crashes Coachella's booty-shaking party on Saturday.Image courtesy Major Lazer

Saturday

Major Lazer

Diplo and Switch are masters of the party arts. Even if you’ve never heard their bombastic Guns Don’t Kill People … Lazers Do, you will not regret watching them do what they do. That’s all you need to know. But if you want more, check out Wired.com’s exclusive Major Lazer podcast.

MGMT

The duo MGMT has been riding a wave of hype since its Oracular Spectacular blew up in 2008. Their follow-up, Congratulations, is out now, making the festival the new record’s testing ground. Be prepared for a danceable psych-rock freak-out.

The xx

This U.K. band’s sparsely arranged, heavenly seven-minute jams have made them one of the best acts to cross the pond in a hot minute, getting love from critics and hipsters alike. Catch this set (and bring a date).

Girls

Putting this band on our must-see list could easily be read as a bit of hometown nepotism. Girls hail from Wired‘s home base of San Francisco, after all. But this band doesn’t need any favors from us. Girls is already getting kudos far and wide for its brand of jangly rock. The set should be perfect for an Indio afternoon.

Sunday

Gorillaz

Wired‘s cover toons Gorillaz are back after a somewhat-lengthy hiatus with a fresh new record, Plastic Beach, and a slot closing out the Coachella fest. Here’s hoping that the band Blur frontman Damon Albarn created with comic artist Jamie Hewlett puts on the kind of show only a virtual group can.

Thom Yorke

We’ve heard he’s good. He’s in some other underground band that’s pretty popular. This is his side project or something. You should probably check it out.

Phoenix

After years of being rock’s worst-kept secret, Phoenix is finally getting the kind of big-deal attention it deserves, thanks to last year’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Expect a rocking set from this French foursome.

Mayer Hawthorne

Michigan-native Mayer Hawthorne started out as DJ under the alias DJ Haircut. It’s a good thing for all of us that he found his calling with his own smooth brand of retro soul. He’s been getting a lot of buzz for his debut A Strange Arrangement, so hopefully that buzz will be amped up to a scream by the time he gets to Coachella.